Eating Vegan/Vegetarian in Hyde Park
Hyde Park is notable for exactly 2 things: being the home of President Barack Obama and having the highest density of restaurants so completely average beyond your wildest imagination. Sure, some of them are good and some of them are bad, but most of them are just, like, fine whatever. That being said, it's pretty easy to eat out as a vegetarian or vegan here! Native Foods Okay so this place is actually the absolute best. Located in Harper Court (on Harper and 53rd), this all-vegan restaurant has amazing seitan based chicken (I recommend ordering it crispy) and other meats, as well as tofu and tempeh if you're gluten free! As a side note, they do have a complete gluten-free menu. But yeah they have appetizers, sandwiches, burgers, salads, sides (get the sweet potato fries with chipotle sauce), INCREDIBLE desserts, and homemade iced teas and lemonades, and an additional rotating seasonal menu. If you sign up for a rewards card, you get a free drink on the spot and other free meals as points accumulate. This place is adored by vegans and non-vegans alike, you really gotta go! There are also Native Foods scattered across the rest of Chicago, if you're out and about or just wanting to go out and about. Biggest flaw is the "About" page on their website, where they turn the word "native" into an acrostic to reflect their "core values" ugh it's so gross I literally can't believe someone on their marketing team gave that the green light GOD B'Gabs Goodies This is a raw vegan gluten-free soy-free restaurant. So like, yeah. It would feel remiss not to mention it since it is one of two exclusively vegan places in HP, and I guess it's something you should try at least once? Just to say you did? I don't know what else to say about it god I hope they don't contact me fore defaming their establishment or something idk THE FOOD IS JUST KINDA WEIRD AND KINDA NOT DELICIOUS. They have good smoothies though! So yeah okay smothies! B'Gabs used to be located at the Experimental Station on 61st, but it's since moved to Harper Court. In addition to the restaurant, there is an attached store that sells like herbs and leaves and organic body care products and such. The Medici on 57th People at UChicago are, like, really into the Med, or at least they pretend to be really into the Med to keep up appearances. The Med has two parts - a bakery/deli facing the street and a restaurant component with an entrance next to it that you kinda have to be looking for to see otherwise you'll spend your first two years thinking the place everyone raves about has 3 high-top tables and that's it nothing else. They also have carry out and delivery if your problem set has left you bedridden! *For vegetarians: Med shakes are low-key worshipped - I would highly recommend the Mexicana (a vanilla shake that's all cinnamon-y and delicious). You can create your own sandwich for about 5 bucks or they have some set menu items (e.g. Veggie Sandwich, Mediterranean Wrap) that are good for ya! There are also many lunch/dinner menu options suitable for vegetarians - the best chips and guacamole in Hyde Park (not even IMHO this is just true), salads, veggie chili, pizza (from the menu or make your own), a black bean burger, spinach lasagna, quesadillas, etc. etc. *For vegans: You can make your own sandwich that's vegan if you use just veggies and hummus as the spread. They have *some* menu items suitable for vegans - hummus, guac and chips, veggie chili, vegetable skewers, and maybe a black bean burger without the cheese?? (I haven't checked to see if the burger contains egg.) This is also the only place in HP to get vegan pizza!! They carry non-dairy cheese, and the pan crust dough is totally vegan while the thin crust is almost but techically not vegan (it contains honey). Noodles, Etc. Someone once described this to me as Hyde Park's most mediocre restaurant but I think it's fucking lit, in large part because they always play pop hits from the 90s to present, with a disproportionate amount of Ed Sheeran. But also the food is pretty good. A Pan-Asian restaurant located on 57th, they have many appetizers, noodles, and curries suitable for both vegetarians and vegans! Anything with a "broth" is neither - it's always chicken or beef broth (I have asked). The curries are made with coconut milk though, so all good there. If you want Pad Thai, make sure you ask for it without egg and with the vegan sauce (not sure what the difference between this and the regular is but it apparently exists, so). Shinju Sushi Japanese restaurant on 53rd that's the place to go for sushi in Hyde Park. It's, like, really super mediocre, but it is sushi and it is in HP, so it's got that going for it. There's an entire vegetable maki menu and pretty reasonable prices ($4-$5 per roll). One thing for vegans to be aware of is that the sweet potato maki, though delicious, is made with a mayo sauce. Aside from sushi, there are a lot of appetizers/"appetizers" that you can totally eat as an entree that are veggie friendly (and tons of tempura!). A fun thing to do is get their all-you-can-eat special for $20 and see if you can consume enough to make it a ~good deal~. Remember, you don't eat until you're full, you eat until you hate yourself. Thai Food Okay, look. There are 3 Thai restaurants in Hyde Park and they are all on 55th and they are all within one block of one another and it is a businessperson's biggest conundrum. I have never taken a single business or econ class but I am still very confident that this is a fact. Everyone has a different idea about which one is the best and in all honesty they're probably basically the same but, opinions!!!! These restaurants, ranked by me, are 1) The Snail, 2) Siam, and 3) Thai 55. They all have a pretty standard Thai menu, and vegan and vegetarian options include egg rools, spring rolls, fried tofu, pot stickers, suan tong, tons of noodles and curries, entrees with tofu, etc. Z&H Friday and Saturday nights are taco nights!! They sell vegan sweet potato and seitan tacos for a little over $2 a piece, which is nice because you'll definitely want multiple. The guacamole is quite good too and goes well with the tacos, but I would recommend passing on the salsa. Taco night is also BYOB. Wine goes with vegan sweet potato and seitan tacos, no matter what anyone else says. None of the regular menu items are vegan, but vegetarians can get sandwiches and soup as well as baked good!